Men Amongst Monsters
by bag0fb0nes
Summary: ft. Daryl Dixon/OC At the end of the world, who are you? A survivor or a solider? slightly AU
1. Chapter 1

**disclaimer** any recognizable characters, settings, quotes, etc do not belong to me. they belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, etc and all their respectful owners. i do, however, own emma dixon. thanks so much, enjoy!

* * *

"I swear, I'd rather be running from those walkers than sitting here in this heat." Emma groaned running a damp cloth across her forehead as she and the other women sat by the edge of a lake.

The blonde beside her, Andrea laughed softy as she wrung out one of Dale's shirts, "You're ridiculous. I'd take the heat over one of those things any day."

Emma shrugged and refocused her attention back to the soapy shorts in her hands. She hummed softly to herself as she rinsed the suds out of the clothing. The other women chatted amongst themselves about things they missed, material things: vibrators, coffee makers, cell phones... Emma soon found herself consumed in her thoughts until a familiar voice started barking at her.

"What I tell you about taking my shirts, woman?"

Carol gasped softly causing everyone's heads to pop up. Emma smirked to herself as she turned to see her shirtless husband standing on the overlook of the lake. "Quit it you hillbilly. Would you rather have me walk around with no shirt on?" Her fingers wrapped around the hem of the shirt and began to pull it up exposing her midsection.

In a few quick strides, Daryl Dixon grasped his wife's hands and pulled them down causing the bunched up fabric in her hands to fall back in place, "Keep the shirt." He muttered roughly. Out of the corner of her eye, beneath the dark sunglasses, she saw a wide-eyed seventeen year old Amy.

Emma giggled softly and pressed a kiss to Daryl's rough stubble covered cheek. "Love you."

The hunter shook his head and gave his wife's behind a hearty smack. He gave her a quick nod before heading back to his watch post. Emma turned back to the abandon pile of laundry and knelt down at the water's edge once again. This time, however, she was pulled into the other women's conversation.

"You and Daryl are such a cute couple. I can't wait until we get out of this mess and find myself a man." Amy sighed happily.

Emma couldn't help but laugh and shake her head as she continued to rub the small soap remains into a dirt stain on her white t-shirt. "Yeah, Daryl's a good guy. He's my rock."

_A cool breeze brushed past Emma as she anxiously gripped her boyfriend's arm, "Daryl, I really don't like this. Can we please go back to the cabin? Why are we out here? What if a bear finds us or-" _

_"If you don't stop yapping I'll willingly hand you over to any bear we encounter." _

_A silence fell over the couple as they continued their journey in the dark wilderness. Out in the distance, there was a howling animal. Chills ran down the brunette's spine as a few bushes began to rustle as they walked past. _

_Emma pleaded in fear,"Daryl, please, I want to go back. I'm scared!" _

_Daryl turned on his heel and groaned. He pushed a piece of hair behind Emma's ear and kissed her, "Please for the love of god, calm down. You'll be fine. As long as I'm around you have nothing to be afraid of. I will never let you get hurt. You hear me?" _

_"I love you." She whispered. _

_Five years together and it was the first time those three powerful words came out. Daryl gave his usual grunt of a response but that was all Emma needed. "Better keep walkin'" He grumbled pulling her through a thick patch of trees. Through the passing, there was a picnic table with a single candle lit. _

_Emma's feet stopped moving as she stared at the set up before her, "Daryl?" _

_There was a gentle tug on her hand causing her feet to start moving again. As they approached the table, Emma noticed a bottle of Wild Turkey Bourbon and two crystalline wine glasses. "Come sit." He pointed to the left side of the table. Lying flat against the table was a pale green envelope with Emma's name written in chicken scratch. "Now I aint much of a talker so I wrote it all down for you." _

_Emma pushed a piece of hair out of her face and slowly sat down pulling a card. As she looked at the picture, the brunette let out a shaky laugh. It was one of the first photos of the couple on their first road trip. Slowly unfolding the folding the piece of paper, Emma let out a gasp as a few tears jumped out of her eyes. _

_Looking back up, the brunette saw a small velvet box sitting before her. Daryl watched his girlfriend, studied her face. Even after eight years of practice studying that one face, Daryl for once wasn't able to read her right off the bat. Emotions were mixed and the tears threw him off completely. Sure, his lady was no stone cold fox, but she certainly didn't shed petty tears. "What'd you say?" He urged as gently as he could. _

_WIthout words, Emma pushed the box towards her man and stared at him expectantly. For a second, Daryl's whole world stopped. Was he being rejected? Before being able to get too consumed in his thoughts, Emma cracked a smile, "Put it on for me. I won't make you ask out loud, just get on your knee and put the ring on my finger." _

_"I got bad knees, woman." Daryl grumbled rolling his eyes. When he didn't get a response, Daryl grabbed the ring off the picnic table and huffed as he stood and walked to the other side of the table. Slowly but surely, he made his way down to one knee and flipped the box open. _

"Hello, Emma... earth to Emma!"

The brunette shook her head and rubbed her eyes quickly to see four sets of curious eyes on her. Lori smiled as she noticed Emma slowly coming back, "Welcome back, space cadet. Where'd you go off to?"

"Nostalgia is all." She muttered looking at the worn and tired mother, "Just a bunch of stupid old memories."

Emma rushed to finish the rest of her family's laundry and scurried off back to the tents. She brushed past a cranky Merle and nearly fell straight on her ass. "Woah there, darlin'! Where's the fire?"

"I'm not in the mood right now, Merle. Just fuck of alright?"

Merle just shook his head and let out a raspy chuckle as he watched his sister-in-law storm off. He wandered throughout the camp lazily, harassing whoever came in his way. It wasn't until the sun slowly began to set that the redneck began to take his patrol a little more seriously. Shotgun in hand, Merle pulled himself up the ladder on to the roof of the RV.

As soon as Merle took his post, Emma knew it. She could feel his beady eyes follow her every move. Any step or fidget she made, he knew. The brunette joined Carol and her daughter, Sophia, in a coloring session while Lori tried to teach Carl how to divide.

"You know, Merle likes to keep a pretty good eye on you." Carol mentioned softly picking up a green crayon. "Must make you feel safe knowing someone's always watching your back."

Emma bit back a laugh, "Irritating is more like it. I'm a big girl, I've just got a paranoid husband is all."

Carol nodded quickly almost as if she were apologizing for even bringing up the subject matter. Emma studied the woman to her left with short hair for a moment. Carol gave her daughter a warm smile and a kiss to the forehead. There was a faint scar above the older woman's eyebrow and Emma could only imagine what had happened.

"You know, Carol, we've all got your back. I mean, if anything were to happen, we'd be there in a heartbeat to help out. Right, Lori?"

Lori looked up from the workbook before her and nodded. She offered a sympathetic smile before returning to her son. Carol reached out and placed her hand over Emma's, "I appreciate the sentiment, darling."

Emma simply nodded. She gave Sophia a quick compliment on her coloring skills before getting up to check the status of their meal which Andrea and Amy had so thoughtfully caught in the quarry. Knowing to avoid Shane, Emma walked right up to Morales who sat by the dim campfire.

"Round everyone up. Dinner's served." He replied quickly with an all knowing smile.

As the group crowded around, Emma couldn't help but shift to the back of the group. She looked around, studying the visible outskirts of camp in the hopes of seeing a glimpse of her husband. After collecting two rations of fish, Emma climbed up top to join her brother-in-law on the RV. She handed him a metal plate and cringed as she took a bite.

"World's gone to shit and you still fuss about eating fish, don't cha?" Merle chuckled scarfing down his serving.

Emma shrugged, "I'll live. You see Daryl around lately? Last I saw him was earlier this afternoon at the quarry but he's disappeared since. He go hunting or something and not tell me?"

"He's out with Rick and the chinaman." Merle replied, the name of the cop leaving a metallic taste in his mouth.

The brunette watched as Merle grabbed a bite of fish off her plate. "You know, Glenn isn't Chinese. He's Korean, there's a difference. Can't you see the difference between he and I?"

Merle shrugged, "Chinese, Japanese, Korean-ese... y'all have dark hair and little eyes. Don't make much of a difference to me."

"You're so racist." Emma snarled and shoved the plate of fish into Merle's lap.

The redneck laughing in glee knowing he struck a nerve and being rewarded for it by enjoying the rest of her food. Emma slid down the ladder and began making her way towards her and Daryl's tent when a voice stopped her.

"Where you think you're going all alone in the dark?"


	2. Chapter 2

**disclaimer** any recognizable characters, settings, quotes, etc do not belong to me. they belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, etc and all their respectful owners. i do, however, own emma dixon. thanks so much, enjoy!

* * *

Without turning around, Emma replied quickly, "To my tent... need to hold my hand and watch me sleep? I'm tired, just leave me be."

Without being given a chance to protest, Shane quickly snatched his rifle off the ground at the sound of a deathly groan. All the color drained from Emma's face as she accidentally approached a walker tearing open Ed Peltier's stomach and feasting on his insides. Her heart was pounding and her palms felt sweaty. As quietly as possible, Emma scurried back towards camp only to realize that several more walkers were hot on her trail.

"Oh god... Merle? Merle!" Emma called out for her brother-in-law, "Hey! Hillbilly shit head!"

Merle jumped up and ran to the end of the RV. The high pitch scream of Carol and Lori was evident as Shane directed them to get inside Dale's winnebago. T-Dog and Jacqui began wailing on the oncoming walkers while Emma struggled to reach for her favorite hunting knife which was securely attached to her belt.

Nervous hands fumbling, Emma wasn't able to get a good grip on her knife as one walker singled her out in the group. Gunshots rang out as well as several loud voices. The brunette, keeping one eye on the dead fucker shuffling towards her, anxiously began searching the ground for some other sort of weapon she could use.

Once within a close enough distance, Emma was able to forcefully kick out her left leg and practically blow out the walker's knee cap. The dead corpse, however, fell forward and landed with a soft thud against Emma's shins. As soon as it happened, the water works began. She was alone and she was going to die. Her husband was away and her brother-in-law was for once actually trying to help the people of the group outside his family.

The walker slowly opened it's mouth when Emma started frantically kicking her legs hoping it would be enough to knock the body off of her. It was that moment when Emma figured it was no use. This was her fate. She screamed for help but it was muffled by the RV at her back. Everyone on the other side was preoccupied in their own battles.

Just as she decided that she had enough and was ready to go, an arrow struck the corpse and it went limp. "Emma!" Daryl's voice shouted as he ran toward his distressed wife, "You been bit?"

No reply.

Emma shut her eyes for a moment trying to regain the ability to speak. She struggled for a moment trying to find her words.

"You been bit or scratched?! Did this thing get you?!" Daryl asked harshly, his voice cracking slightly.

Still no words. Emma shook her head furiously blinking away tears. Exhausted from her struggle, Emma mustered up some last bit of strength and leapt into her husband's arms. The hunter held his woman as close as humanly possible. He didn't care who could see, Daryl knew his wife needed him. "Don't go scaring me like that again, you hear?"

Emma nodded and pushed away a stray piece of hair, "I'm sorry..."

Daryl shook his head and pressed a gentle kiss to Emma's forehead, "Nothing to worry about. Remember what I said... I won't let anything bad happen to you as long as we are together." He rubbed comforting circles in the small of her back before pulling away to regroup with everyone else.

"Any bites?" Rick asked as everyone crammed inside the winnebago.

There was a low murmur of 'no' until Carol spoke out timidly, "Ed was..."

"He was dinner to those fuckers. There's no way he's coming back!" Merle announced rambunctiously.

"Merle!" Emma snapped seeing Carol wrap her arms protectively around Sophia, covering her ears in the process, "What the hell is wrong with you? The woman just lost her husband for heavens sake. Have some fucking decency and keep your trap shut."

Andrea pushed herself off the door she was leaning on to stare at the younger brunette, "Lost her husband? Emma, are you insane? That man was a monster! You saw yourself what he did to her. If anything we should thank that walker for eating Ed."

Emma stared at Andrea with disbelief. It seemed as if what Andrea announced was something majority agreed with. Emma paused for a moment, waiting for Daryl to have her back. When nothing came from him, Emma shook her head and stormed off the RV muttering under her breath. She slammed the door shut and began kicking one of the walker's corpse angrily. "Stupid. Piece. of. shit!"

She ran down to her tent and grabbed her husband's keys to the pick up and a blanket. Once inside, Emma locked the doors and spread out across the bench. The blanket created a cocoon of warmth around her body amidst the cool Atlanta evening.

The RV was dead silent as the door slammed shut. Daryl raised his eyebrow when he realized all eyes where directed on himself. "She shouldn't be out there by herself." Carol piped up. She turned to Lori, "Can you watch Sophia for a moment?"

Lori nodded and handed off a slightly battered baseball bat. "Glenn, why don't you go out there too. You've got a pretty good shot."

Once he and Carol where out of the RV, Andrea let out a sigh and ran a hand over her face. "Listen, Daryl, I didn't mean to offend Emma but she just wasn't thinking realistically."

The hunter grunted in response with a short nod. Rick took his silence as a sign to move on to the next matter at hand, "Walkers are moving in on us and we aren't safe here anymore."

"Well thanks for that news flash, Officer Friendly." Merle muttered under his breath.

Ignoring the angry man beside him, Rick continued, "Does anyone have any suggestions as to were we could possibly move next?" His question was followed only by more silence. Daryl rubbed his chin thoughtfully and debated whether or not he should open his mouth.

_"Let's get away this weekend, babe." Emma mused, her head resting against her husband's bare chest as they tucked into bed for the night. _

_Daryl looked down at his wife, "Aint a bad idea. Where you have in mind?" _

_"The cabin... we haven't been up there since the honeymoon." The brunette began tracing the tattoo over his heart and looked up at her husband through her thick lashes, "It would be nice to get away, especially after the week we've had." _

_He nodded head in agreement and brought a hand up and rubbed his tired eyes. The past week had been absolute hell for the couple: running back and forth to the hospital, bailing Merle's drunk ass out of jail, work, and taking Merle to the courthouse. "I'll pack the car in the morning when I wake up. Sleep in and I'll come wake you when I'm set to go." _

_Emma feathered Daryl's neck in kisses before reaching his lips with a tender kiss. "Love you." _

_"Me too.." Daryl sighed contently before reaching over and shutting off the lamp on his bedside table. _

_The next morning, Daryl woke with the birds and shimmied his way out of bed carefully. After digging for a large enough duffle bag, Daryl filled it up with clothes for the both of them and a few of his hunting rifles. He tossed the bag along with his crossbow and a box of food into the bed of his truck. In chicken scratch, Daryl left a note on the kitchen table for his brother before heading to the bedroom to wake up his wife. _

_The ride to the cabin was a silent one. Emma and Daryl enjoyed the silence; they weren't a couple that needed constant communication. A simple look or gesture was all they needed to get their message across. About two hours in, the sight of the Dixon cabin came into view. _

_The spacious cabin was a wedding gift from Emma's late father. The man was a Cold War vet- a pilot from the Berlin Airlift to be exact, with the best war stories. His cabin up in Blue Ridge was a perfect reflection of him. With McCarthyism spreading like wildfire, Arthur sent his wife and her sister up to the cabin to avoid any accusations. The building was full of survival shit which Daryl always tried to toss out. He had yearly shipments of MRE's sent and always kept generators up to date. _

"So, our two options are Fort Bennings or the CDC, check out if they figured out what the hell is bringing the dead back." Rick concluded.

Shane groaned once again, "Give it up, brother. If the CDC had any idea what was going on, they would've helped by now. Face the reality, there's no cure for this shit. Now, I say let's go to the military base. They've got to have some sort of refugee camp set up for people."

Before allowing yet another argument ensue, Daryl spoke up, "Emma and I have a cabin. 'Bout two hours away in Blue Ridge. Got those solar panels and shit ton of MREs."

Everyone stared at the usually quite and easily irritated hunter. No one was quite sure how to react; The Dixon men weren't exactly what one would call team players, so the suggestion caught everyone off guard. For once, the silence made the hunter uncomfortable.

Not giving the group a minute more to think, Merle spoke up, "Well listen here y'all, us Dixon's are heading there whether you follow or not."


	3. Chapter 3

**disclaimer** any recognizable characters, settings, quotes, etc do not belong to me. they belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, etc and all their respectful owners. i do, however, own emma dixon. thanks so much, enjoy!

* * *

After four hours of clearing land of walkers and setting up their cans on string, the Dixon's made their way into the cabin. It felt good to be surrounded by four walls and a roof. The cabin was always Emma and Daryl's favorite place to be, so much so that they were planning on just living there for good and selling their trashy condo.

A sense of nostalgia washed over the family as they all moved their belongings into their bedrooms. Emma was following Daryl down the hall to the master bedroom when she passed the old game room. The futon was still pushed against the wall and beside it a rocking chair which Daryl had built. A thin layer of dust covered everything in the room. As she turned to leave, a small photo tacked to the wall opened a floodgate of repressed memories.

The brunette felt her throat become dry. It seemed as if all the oxygen in the room had disappeared. Despite how painful it was to be looking at that photo, Emma couldn't find it in herself to look away. It taunted her. Her feet were glued in their place. The date in the top left corner **April 28, 2010** was etched into her mind.

_"I don't see it.." Daryl squinted his eyes staring intently on the small photo his wife had dropped in his lap, "This little white blob?" _

_Emma nodded and took a seat beside him, "Yeah, that's him." _

_Daryl slid the photo into his shirt pocket and looked up at his wife, beaming. Her stomach protruded slightly beneath her husband's beige tank top. In just a few short months, another Dixon boy would be born. Daryl reached out and placed a hand over her distended belly before leaving the room, most likely off to show Merle the sonogram photo. _

_Emma tucked a curl behind her ear and rubbed her back as she struggled to stand for a moment. Although she wasn't too short, standing at 5'4 with an expanding bust and belly, moving around became a hassle for Emma. Seven months pregnant and the brunette had fully adopted the typical pregnancy waddle. _

_Later that evening, Emma found herself standing before the stove waiting for water to boil for spaghetti. She hummed to herself and subconsciously rubbed small circles over the same spot on her belly. There was a dull ache that had been agitating her all day. _

_As the water began to boil and the kettle for tea began to whistle, Emma felt her knees go weak as she called out for her husband, "Daryl... Daryl come quick." She slowly lowered herself to the ground and began to panic at the sight of warm crimson blood pooling by her bottom. _

_Daryl ran in with a hammer in one hand and a pile of nails in the other. He had that irritated look on his face, the one he used when he was called away from the middle of a project. Just as he opened his mouth to make some snide remark about women and kitchens, he too noticed the blood and began to panic. He thrust his tools onto the kitchen table and knelt down to be eye level with his wife. "Darling, stay with me, alright? I'm going to carry you out to the car and we'll go see the doctor." _

The memories were still fresh in Emma's mind as she was finally able to tear herself away from the photo on the wall. That was the last time she had visited the cabin. Daryl had come up once without her, a few months later, and scrubbed the kitchen floor with Merle. He also promised to clear out the useless nursery, which he obviously had not. It was almost reassuring to see the crib and changing table; it meant Daryl still had hope for them despite his wife's actions.

Two short quick knocks tore Emma's attention away from the crib collecting dust and over to the doorway. Daryl stood there, his arms crossed and a frown etched into his face. "No reason for us to be in here." He wrapped a calloused hand around her arm and pulled his wife out of the room.

The door shut with a click as Daryl guided Emma down the hall a bit further towards their bedroom. "Do you think the others will join us?" She asked in a soft voice.

Daryl shrugged and sat down beside her, "You wanna talk about it?"

Emma shook her head and shrugged off her flannel before walking toward the dresser. Sitting on top was a dusty photograph of the first date. There she was- a twenty year old scrawny kid trying to impress a guy with a motorcycle. Daryl's arm was hanging over her shoulder like a boulder, a cigarette dangling from between his lips, his other hand flipping the bird. Emma had her arms wrapped around his middle, a small smile on her face and a look of admiration in her eyes. Ten years is a long time for a lot to happen.

"I'm going to go cook something up for you and Merle. I'll let you boys rest up."

Before Daryl had a chance to call her back, Emma had left the room and shut the door. The hunter shifted down to the edge of the bed and though back to all the memories the couple had in the cabin. He ran a dirty hand over his face and fell back, sighing at the feeling of the mattress enveloping his tired, aching, bones.

_"Well look at you Darylina... getting ready for a date I hear. Why didn't you tell ole Merle?" _

_Daryl shook his brother's hand off his shoulder and grunted, " 'Cause it aint any of your business." _

_Merle held up his hands in defense, "Just don't go being soft on me now, baby brother. Don't forget who'll always bet there for you when that sweet thing realizes you're just another piece of trailer trash." _

_The younger Dixon just shook his head and grabbed the keys to the motorcycle. The feeling of engine roaring beneath him and the wind passing by cleared Daryl's head of all the toxins his brother tried so hard to instill. _

_Emma bounced on the balls of her feet nervously as she stood by the bay window of her sister's house. The brunette anxiously awaited the arrival of Daryl Dixon, a man she had just met earlier in the week. The sound of a rumbling motorcycle made the girl's stomach to serious backflips. _

_"Cat... Cat, he's here!" _

_Catherine, Emma's older sister, bounded down the stairs with a camera in hand. At the sight of the device, Emma shook her head and let out a nervous laugh. Cat sighed and pouted, "Just one, please? You'll look back on this photo and thank me." _

_The two girls headed outside to greet Daryl. He killed the engine and hopped off. Emma smiled and gave a small wave to which he returned with a nod. As she got closer, more butterflies began to erupt in her belly. _

_"Okay you two, turn around! I just want one picture." Cat called out. _

_Emma sent Daryl an apologetic smile before turning around and moving a bit closer to him. Her knees almost buckled under the weight of his muscular arm thrown over her shoulder. She shifted slightly beneath the weight and wrapped both arms around his toned midsection. Emma could feel him tense under her touch and looked up. His face was calm while his body told a different tale. _

_She took a minute to admire the man she met at the food market. It was at that very moment that Emma knew he was the one. However, little did she know, Daryl Dixon had the same thing in mind. _


	4. Chapter 4

**disclaimer** any recognizable characters, settings, quotes, etc do not belong to me. they belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, etc and all their respectful owners. i do, however, own emma dixon. thanks so much, enjoy!

* * *

Daryl woke up to the feeling of his mattress moving. He rubbed his wearily to see his wife sitting on the edge of the bed, her arm creating a curtain around her face. The hunter noticed sunshine peaking through the lace curtains and wondered just how long he as asleep for. There was a plate of, now cold, chicken and peas.

"Emma... babe?" Daryl reached out and ran a hand down her back, "What're you looking at?" He sat up in bed and pulled her into his lap.

Emma allowed her husband to so easily move her body. She instantly melted into his chest, a sense of security washing over her. Her eyes never left the photo in her hands. It had been daunting her ever since that eventful evening. However, it wasn't until her eyes landed on that very image that those horrible memories flooded her mind. Once the world went to shit, there were more pressing things at hand to think about. But now, in the safety of the well equip cabin, Emma had all the time in the world to think about the past.

"I"m so sorry." Emma whimpered, her body trembling, "I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough."

Daryl shifted uncomfortably for a moment. Dealing with emotions and talking about how he felt was still such a foreign concept for him. "Aint nothing to be sorry about. Doc even said there was nothing we couldn've done to prevent it."

The brunette leaned into her husband a little more, "When this clears up, you think you'd be willing to try again?"

"Might as well get to practicing now. We've all the time in the world." Daryl smirked lightening the mood.

Emma giggled as Daryl swiftly pinned her to the mattress. She reached up and traced the outline of his demon tattoo, "I love you so much."

Daryl grunted with a nod and dropped to his elbows. Their lips met in such haste that they nearly missed. Merle walked out of the guest room just down the hall and kicked their door shut, "Have some fucking decency. Don't needa be seeing my baby brother's pale ass... though," he mused, "I wouldn't mind if you flashed me a tit or two."

The eldest Dixon couldn't help but envy his younger brother. Not only did Daryl have a beautiful wife, but people actually started liking him. The group was finally coming around to embracing Daryl. Meanwhile, nasty rotten Merle migh as well be bitten. Good riddance they would cheer. Merle sat on the porch and lit one of his last cigarettes. A relaxing calm washed over the irate southerner.

As the cherry red butt got stomped out, the sound of leaves crunching met old Merle's ears. He instinctively lifted up his rifle and held his breath. Merle's dirt covered finger twitched over the trigger. _Shoot first, ask later_. Just as he went to pull the trigger, a familiar looking vehicle pulled up to the cabin. It was the goddamn RV.

"Hold fire, Dixon." Officer Grimes announced approaching the armed red neck with caution. He stepped out of his Volvo and held out his hands, weapon free.

Merle smirked, "CDC aint what you thought it was, eh?" He lowered his weapon but held his place.

Rick shook his head, "Not exactly. The only man left was a mad man. He blew the place up, barely made it out alive."

"Shame.." Merle muttered to himself, "Who you got left?"

"Everyone but Jaqui. She decided to stay behind with the scientist, didn't want to keep living." Rick explained taking slow steps forward.

Merle remained tight lipped momentarily, "If I count right, that's ten people. That's a helluva lot of mouths to feed."

Shane jumped off the final step of the RV, "Glad you can count. You letting us come in or not?"

"Hold on just one second there, cop. Got to check with the Mister and Misses. Just give me a minute here." Merle snarled in a condescending tone.

He took his sweet time making his way through the cabin back upstairs to the bedrooms. Slowly and cautiously knocking on Daryl and Emma's bedroom door, Merle waited. A muffled, "What?" came through the door. Merle rolled his eyes and kicked the door nearly off its hinges, "Quit fucking, we've got company."

Merle laughed as he heard Emma squeak in embarrassment. The window just beside their bed which over looked the front of the cabin was wide open. Daryl muttered something about giving them all a free show before the sound of a slap echoed through the building.

"Jesus woman, I was only kidding. Don't needa go round to slapping me." Daryl groaned as he met his brother at the door, "Who's there, everyone?"

Merle nodded with a scowl, "Lost the nigger's lady is all. Ten fucking people. This place aint big enough, Daryl."

Emma pulled her hair into a low braid to cover the marks on her neck as she brushed passed the Dixon brothers. Under her breath as she passed each room, she counted how many people it would hold. Daryl looked at his brother with a sympathetic smile, "Aint your call anymore, big brother." He pat Merle on the back and walked off leaving Merle with one final thought, "At least try being nice. Aint enough people left in the world to go off making enemies."

Merle couldn't help but roll his eyes. His sister-in-law sure was nice to look at and came in handy when it came to saving his sorry ass from doing real hard time behind bars, but he sure as hell hated the way she changed his brother. The girl made him soft and kind. Those were two things Dixon's weren't meant to be. Heck that was part of the reason their momma left them.

As much as Merle hated to admit it, it was their piece of shit father that kept them alive so long in a world where the dead came back to life. Being soft and kind was a sure way to get killed. Cutting loses, leaving behind dead weight without a second thought, those where the tactics to live by. None of that, helping and compassion bullshit Emma was always preaching about. Letting those ten people live in the cabin was just signing their death wish.


	5. Chapter 5

**disclaimer** any recognizable characters, settings, quotes, etc do not belong to me. they belong to Robert Kirkman, AMC, etc and all their respectful owners. i do, however, own emma dixon. thanks so much, enjoy!

* * *

A few weeks in, everyone in the cabin had fallen into a comfortable routine. Meal preparation duties were split between Carol and Lori while Sophia and Car shared dish washing duties. Emma, Rick, and T-Dog began setting up perimeters while Shane and Merle chopped wood for both the fire place and a sturdy fence. Dale kept watch perched on the roof of his RV overlooking the front of the cabin while Glenn sat on the balcony watching over the back. It was Daryl and Andrea who would hunt- the majority of the land had yet to be picked over by survivors so the area was just teeming with game.

As Emma and Daryl joined the group for breakfast one morning, Carol's curiosity got the best of her. "Hey, Emma... I was wondering, upstairs there's a door locked between yours and the study. What's in there?"

The brunette's face fell and paled slightly as all eyes shifted in her direction. Daryl grunted and thrust his fork down on the table, "None of your god damn business, now quit snooping."

The room went silent. It was the first time since the group rejoined the Dixon's that they were lashed out out on by Daryl. Emma quietly set her fork down and left the room without a word. Carol, with fear in her eyes, began apologizing profusely. "The hell with all y'all." Daryl muttered before following after his wife.

Rick soon found everyone's attention on him. Anytime there was any sort of disturbance in their routine, he was the one people went to. This time, however, it was Shane who spoke up. His voice was coarse and his tone was harsh.

"If it's something that could potentially cause us harm, we need to deal with it realistically."

Lori bit her lip nervously, "What are you suggesting might be up there?"

"Don't know," Shane removed his baseball hat and ran a hand through his overgrown hair, "A walker maybe?"

Rick shook his head, "Don't be ridiculous. If it were a walker, we'd know it by now. I say-" Merle sat back and chucked to himself as the group began speculating what was behind the locked door. Turning to the amused red neck, Rick narrowed his eyes, "What's up there, Merle?"

"Aint nothing up there but a weakness. That rooms makin' Daryl soft, no doubt about it." Merle mused biting into a piece of toast sending crumbs flying.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Glenn asked, a slight nuance of panic in his voice.

Shane, however, didn't wait for an answer. He grabbed pulled out his gun out of its holster and stormed upstairs. He ignored the sound of people asking him to stop. For too long, Shane thought, people sat around waiting for answers. It was all the waiting that was picking people off left and right. The cop tightened his grip on the gun as he heard Merle's cackling laugh and heavy footsteps fast approaching. With a swift kick, Shane took down the door ready to attack.

To his surprise, the cop found himself standing in a room that heavily reminded him of Carl's nursery when the boy was still just a baby. Daryl jumped off the couch with a furious look on his face. Emma pulled her legs to her chest while a few gasps were heard from the hallway. "Get the fuck outta here, man." the hunter shouted, "This aint your house.. door was locked for a reason."

Emma reached out and grabbed a hold of her husband's hand hoping to bring him back, calm him down. "Daryl, stop.. it's not a big deal."

Daryl looked back at his wife, "This is a big deal. Let me deal with this." He turned his attention back to the cop. As he opened his mouth to say something, Lori, who was standing in the doorway beside her husband, quickly covered her mouth and darted down the hall. "What the hell is her problem?"

Rick let out a sheepish laugh as he felt his face heat up, "Well, we were going to wait until after we talked to Carl privately, but I guess now works too..."

"Spit it out, Officer!" Merle barked.

"Lori's pregnant." He said.

It was so silent you could hear a pin drop. No one knew what to say or how to react. Daryl looked back at his wife who, to his surprise, took the news better than he expected. Emma stood from her spot on the couch, "It's a good thing we have the nursery all set up then. When she feels up to it, send Lori to my bedroom. I have plenty of maternity clothes laying around."

There was a heavy aura hanging over the group as they slowly began to resume their daily jobs. During his break, Dale found Daryl sitting on the back porch staring at a small photo. The older man sat beside the hunter and sighed.

"I know what you went through, son."

Daryl shoved the photo back into his shirt pocket, "Leave me the hell alone, old man." He slid further away on the step, "Aint your son either."

Dale refused to take no for an answer, "When Erma and I lost our baby, we were devastated. We had the name and nursery all set up, just waiting for the arrival. Damn near killed us. We never tried again and Erma never fully healed emotionally. But we were able to grow from it, used the experience and tried to turn it into something positive." Dale gave the hunter a sympathetic look, "You can't let the grief control you."

Silence. The two men sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Eventually, Dale decided it was no use trying to get the hunter to talk. As he left the last step off the porch, he heard Daryl.

"Michael." He huffed, "Michael Lucas Dixon."


End file.
